Red Prysock

Wilburt "Red" Prysock (February 2, 1926 – July 19, 1993)^[1] was an American R&B tenor saxophonist,^[2] one of the early Coleman Hawkins-influenced saxophonists to move in the direction of rhythm and blues, rather than bebop.^[3]

Red Prysock
Red Prysock (foreground) playing with Tiny Grimes
Background information
Birth name	Wilburt Prysock
Born	(1926-02-02)February 2, 1926 Greensboro, North Carolina
Died	July 19, 1993(1993-07-19) (aged 67) Chicago, Illinois
Genres	R&B
Occupation	Musician
Instrument	Saxophone
Years active	1950s–1960s
Labels	Mercury

Career

With Tiny Grimes and his Rocking Highlanders, Prysock staged a saxophone battle with Benny Golson on "Battle of the Mass".^[4] He first gained attention as a member of Tiny Bradshaw's band, playing the lead saxophone solo on his own "Soft", which was a hit for the Bradshaw band in 1952.^[2] Prysock also played with Roy Milton and Cootie Williams.^[2]

In 1954, he signed with Mercury Records as a bandleader and had his biggest hit, the instrumental "Hand Clappin'" in 1955.^[2] During the same year, he joined the band that played at Alan Freed's stage shows.^[2] He also played on several hit records by his brother, singer Arthur Prysock, in the 1960s.^[5]

Personal life

Prysock was born in 1926 in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States,^[2] and died of a heart attack in 1993 in Chicago, at the age of 67.^[1][6] He served in the United States Army during World War II, which was when he learned to play saxophone.^[3][5] He was buried at the Salisbury National Cemetery in Salisbury, North Carolina.^[7]

Discography

• Rock and Roll (Mercury, 1956)
• Fruit Boots (Mercury, 1957)
• The Beat (Mercury, 1957)
• Swing Softly Red (Mercury, 1958)
• Battle Royal with Sil Austin (Mercury, 1959)
• The Big Sound of Red Prysock (Forum Circle, 1964)
• For Me and My Baby (Gateway, 1964; reissued on CD in 2003)